Uzbekistan & Tajikistan: 14 Days

Your private transfer meets you at the airport. The afternoon is kept free to rest after the flight or to take a gentle walk near the hotel.

A full day in the capital: the Hazrati Imam complex in the old city, Chorsu Bazaar under its great dome and the Kukeldash Madrasa nearby, then the Central Asian Plov Centre to watch plov being cooked in giant cauldrons (lunch at your own expense). In the afternoon, Independence Square, Sayilgoh Street, Amir Timur Square and the Metro; the TV Tower and the Museum of Applied Arts if time allows.

The Afrosiyob train to Samarkand, then Registan Square and the Gur-e-Amir Mausoleum. If time permits, a first visit to a traditional paper workshop.

The Bibi-Khanym Mosque and Siyob Bazaar, the Shah-i-Zinda necropolis and the Ulugbek Observatory, with time to finish any visits from the day before.

Over the mountains to Shakhrisabz, the birthplace of Amir Timur: the ruins of the Ak-Saray palace, the Dorus-Saodat complex, the Shamsiddin Kulol Mausoleum and the Kok-Gumbaz Friday Mosque. Back to Samarkand for the night.

Across the border to the Fann Mountains and up the valley of the Seven Lakes: Mijgon, Soya, Gushor, Nofin, Khurdak, Marguzor and Hazorchashma, as far as the road allows. Lunch at a local restaurant, short walks by the water and back to Samarkand in the evening.

Drive to Asraf and check in with a local family. After a home-cooked lunch, walk through the village and up to the ancient rock carvings. In the evening, cook a traditional Uzbek dish with your hosts and share dinner with them.

Down to Aydarkul Lake for lunch by the water and time on the shore, then on to a yurt camp in the Kyzylkum Desert. A 10–15 minute camel ride, dinner at the camp and a night under the desert sky.

Stop at the Chashma spring in Nurata and at a ceramics workshop in Gijduvan to watch the potters at work, then on to Bukhara for an evening walk in the old town.

A full day: Lyab-i Hauz, the Po-i-Kalyan complex and the Kalyan Minaret, the Ark fortress, Chor Minor and the old trading lanes and bazaars.

An early start for the 6 to 7 hour drive across the desert and the Amu Darya river. Check in inside or near Itchan Kala and, if time allows, a first walk in the walled town.

A day in Itchan Kala: the Kalta Minor minaret, the Kunya-Ark fortress, the courtyards of the Tash Hauli palace and the Juma Mosque with its forest of wooden columns.

Choose between the ancient desert fortresses of Toprak-Kala, Kyzyl-Kala and Ayaz-Kala, or a slow day in Khiva for the craft shops, cafés and your favourite monuments.

Transfer from Khiva to Urgench airport for your onward flight.